Kids winter fun for less

Solving Your Kids 'Cabin Fever'

by Sara Noel

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Winter is upon us. The kids get cabin fever quickly when their outside free time is limited. You're looking for some fun things to do before you all start climbing the walls. You don't need a wallet full of cash to enjoy the cold, snowy days. There are all kinds of frugal ways to enjoy the winter season together both indoors and outdoors. Here are a few frugal boredom busters to have as your 911 "plan" for the winter blahs.

Outdoor Fun

Homemade Snowman Kit - It's just not winter fun without building a snowman. Assemble a snowman kit to have handy. Your kit can contain a hat, scarf, mittens, plastic carrot nose, charcoal briquettes, buttons, and two dowels or branches for arms.

Obstacle Courses or Winter Olympics - Jump over the mounds of snow or have relay races.

Snow Paint - Mix food coloring and water and add to spray water bottles and spray the snow to make colorful works of art outside.

Homemade Bird Feeder and Bird Identification - You'll need large pine cones, peanut butter, and birdseed. Add peanut butter to pine cones and roll in birdseed. Keep a journal of birds in your yard. You can borrow a field guide from your local library.

Using hosiery, place some grass seeds in the toe, which is where you want the grass to grow. The hosiery is the head and the excess will be placed in the baby food jar to soak up water. The toe of the hose is the head and the grass will look like hair as it grows. The baby food jar is the body. Add some potting soil in the end of the hosiery on top of the seeds. Make sure the hosiery of seeds and soil is bigger than the opening of the baby food jar.

Tie a knot in the hosiery to keep the seeds and soil in. Completely soak the soil/seed ball. Place the hosiery in a baby food jar filled with water making sure the head is above the mouth of the jar. Decorate the jar to look like Mister Grass Head's clothes.

Shadow Drawing - Take brown grocery bags and tape together until you have enough paper to be the same size as your child. Have your child lie down on the paper bags and trace your child's outline. Your child can then color her "shadow" drawing to look anyway she wants.

Homemade Toys - Decorate a paper towel tube. Paper punch a hole about an inch from the end. Now tie a mason jar ring to a piece of string about one foot long. Attach and tie the loose end of the string through the hole in the cardboard tube. Hold the tube and flip the ring up and try to catch it onto the tube.

Or try taking a plastic, styrofoam, or paper cup and poke a small hole in the bottom. Run a piece of yarn through, tie it securely in place, and add a large button on the loose end. Catch the button in the cup.

Combine ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container. Add 4 tablespoons of mix to a mug and add boiling water. Stir.

Window Fun - Crayola Window Writers are a product that writes and easily washes off of windows. You can also purchase spray snow for windows.

Sara Noel is a freelance writer and the Editor/Publisher of FrugalVillage.com, FrugalSOS.com and Homekeeping101.com. Visit these sites for information on getting back to basics through frugality, gardening, organizing, home keeping, lost arts, simplicity, homesteading, and natural family living.

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